Turbocharged or supercharged engines (i.e. boosted internal combustion engines) may exhibit an abnormal combustion phenomenon known as stochastic pre-ignition or low-speed pre-ignition (or “LSPI”). LSPI is a pre-ignition event that may include very high pressure spikes, early combustion during an inappropriate crank angle, and knock. All of these, individually and in combination, have the potential to cause degradation and/or severe damage to the engine. However, because LSPI events occur only sporadically and in an uncontrolled fashion, it is difficult to identify the causes for this phenomenon and to develop solutions to suppress it.
Pre-ignition is a form of combustion that results of ignition of the air-fuel mixture in the combustion chamber prior to the desired ignition of the air-fuel mixture by the igniter. Pre-ignition has typically been a problem during high speed engine operation since heat from operation of the engine may heat a part of the combustion chamber to a sufficient temperature to ignite the air-fuel mixture upon contact. This type of pre-ignition is sometimes referred to as hot-spot pre-ignition.
More recently, intermittent abnormal combustion has been observed in boosted internal combustion engines at low speeds and medium-to-high loads. For example, during operation of the engine at 3,000 rpm or less, under load, with a brake mean effective pressure (BMEP) of at least 10 bar, low-speed pre-ignition (LSPI) may occur in a random and stochastic fashion. During low speed engine operation, the compression stroke time is longest.
Several published studies have demonstrated that turbocharger use, engine design, engine coatings, piston shape, fuel choice, and/or engine oil additives may contribute to an increase in LSPI events. One theory suggests that auto-ignition of engine oil droplets that enter the engine combustion chamber from the piston crevice (the space between the piston ring pack and cylinder liner) may be one cause of LSPI events. Accordingly, there is a need for engine oil additive components and/or combinations that are effective to reduce or eliminate LSPI in boosted internal combustion engines.